Mass transfer kinetics of pulsed vacuum osmotic dehydration of guavas

The effects of vacuum pulse and solution concentration on mass transfer of osmotically dehydrated guava slices were studied. Kinetics of weight reduction (WR), water loss (WL), solid gain (SG) and water activity (a_w) were obtained using sucrose solutions at 40, 50 and 60 °Brix and vacuum pulse of 100 mbar for 0, 10 and 15 min at the process beginning. Higher solution concentrations and the vacuum pulse application caused an increase on WL of osmotically dehydrated guavas and reduced the samples water activity. The SG was reduced by the increase on osmotic solution concentration and favored by vacuum application. Two different models of kinetics diffusion were tested to obtain diffusivity and to compare the accuracy of these models. The effective diffusivity estimated by the hydrodynamic model well reproduced the effects of process variables on mass transfer kinetics and showed a better agreement to the experimental data than the diffusional model.     

Optimisation of osmotic dehydration process of guavas by response surface methodology and desirability function

Response surface methodology was used to assess the effects of osmotic solution concentration (40–60°Brix), process temperature (20–40 °C) and vacuum pulse application time (0–20 min) at 100 mbar on water loss (WL), weight reduction (WR), solid gain (SG), water activity (a_w), colour parameters and mechanical properties of guava slices. Optimal process conditions were determined through the desirability function approach and quality characteristics of osmotically dehydrated guavas were analysed. Only models obtained for WL, WR and a_w were suitable to describe the experimental data. The desirability function showed that optimal conditions for osmotic dehydration of guavas were: osmotic solution concentration at 60°Brix, process temperature at 32 °C and 20 min of vacuum pulse application. Under optimal conditions, colour and mechanical properties of treated guavas were similar to fresh fruit, presenting WL of 29.01 g/100 g, WR of 25.91 g/100 g, SG of 3.10 g/100 g and a_w of 0.979.     

Modification of Transverse NMR Relaxation Times and Water Diffusion Coefficients of Kiwifruit Pericarp Tissue Subjected to Osmotic Dehydration

The objective of the present study was to evaluate cellular compartment modifications of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) outer pericarp tissue caused by osmotic treatment in a 61.5 % sucrose solution, through the quantification of transverse relaxation time (T ₂) and water self-diffusion coefficient (D _w) obtained by low field nuclear magnetic resonance means. Raw material ripening stage was taken into account as an osmotic dehydration (OD) process variable by analyzing two different kiwifruit groups, low (LB) and high (HB) °Brix. Three T ₂ values were obtained of about 20, 310, and 1,250 ms, which could be ascribed to the proton populations, located in the cell walls, in the cytoplasm/extracellular space, and in the vacuoles, respectively. According to T ₂ intensity values, vacuole protons represented between 47 and 60 % of the total kiwifruit protons, for LB and HB kiwifruits, respectively. The leakage of water leading to vacuole shrinkage seemed to cause concentration of solutes, retained by the tonoplast, making the vacuole T ₂ value decrease along the OD. As expected, the D _w values of raw kiwifruits were lower than the value of the free pure water. The water mobility (and hence D _w), depending on the kiwifruit distinctive cellular structures and solutes, decreased even more during OD due to water loss and sugar gain phenomena. D _w represents an average value of the diffusion coefficient of the whole kiwifruit tissue protons. In order to obtain D _w values specific for each cellular compartment, a multiple component model fitting was also used. According to these results, the vacuole water self-diffusion coefficient (D _w,v) was much higher than D _w.     

Original article: Effect of sucrose and glycerol mixtures in the osmotic solution on characteristics of osmotically dehydrated mandarin cv. (Sai‐Namphaung)

This study investigated the effects of a series of osmotic solutions consisting of sucrose and glycerol on the quality of osmotically dehydrated mandarin, namely mandarin cv. (Sai‐Namphaung). Mandarin samples were peeled and osmotically dehydrated at 55 °C with agitation at 3.5776 × 10^?1g in five osmotic solutions containing various mixtures of 60% sucrose and 60% glycerol (9:1, 8:2, 7:3, 6:4 and 5:5 w/w, respectively). The osmotically dehydrated mandarin was further dried using hot‐air drying at 70 °C for 360 min. Increasing the glycerol ratio in the mixtures significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased water loss and solid gain during osmotic dehydration, and significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affected kinetic rate constants during drying. An increase in the glycerol ratio in the mixtures caused a significant decrease in the quality factors of hardness, moisture content, water activity and reducing sugar. However, the increase resulted in an increase in the darkness of the dried mandarin, compared with increasing the sucrose ratio in the mixtures (P ≤ 0.05). The increase had an insignificant (P > 0.05) effect on vitamin C content.     

不同小分子糖渗透草莓的传质动力学及对真空冷冻干燥草莓品质的影响

为系统地了解不同小分子糖特别是低聚糖和糖醇对草莓的渗透行为以及不同小分子糖对真空冷冻干燥草莓品质的影响,本研究利用两种数学模型对10 种常见小分子糖（白利度为40 °Brix）的渗透动力学进行拟合,并进一步对渗糖处理后真空冷冻干燥草莓的理化特性进行表征。结果表明,Weibull模型更适用于描述渗糖处理后草莓的可溶性固形物增量（solid gain,SG）,而Peleg模型可以更好地描述草莓的水分去除量（water loss,WL）。经不同糖渗透处理结束后,草莓的SG差异较大,山梨糖醇可以使草莓的SG达到6.84 g/100 g,是低聚异麦芽糖的6.16 倍。此外,渗糖处理的草莓硬度得到普遍提高（94.58%～223.23%）;葡萄糖、果糖、山梨糖醇渗透处理组的脆度分别降低了16.70%、20.74%、41.45%,低聚果糖渗透处理后的草莓质构特性与蔗糖最为接近。综合考虑渗透效率、感官营养品质和生产成本,低聚果糖是蔗糖在果蔬渗透处理方面的一种潜在替代品。     

OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF STRAWBERRIES IN A BATCH RECIRCULATION SYSTEM

Physical and chemical characteristics of two cultivars of strawberries during osmotic dehydration in sucrose and glucose solutions were investigated. Temperature was found to have a significant effect on the water and sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose) exchange between strawberry and the osmotic solution. Mass transfer was found not to be significantly different between cultivars. Glucose gain was found to be higher than sucrose for the strawberries osmotically dehydrated in glucose and sucrose solutions at the same mole fraction, respectively. Sugars other than the osmotic sugar were found to decrease in concentration during the osmotic process. The combination of 63% sucrose solution with 25C process temperature for 2 h was able to remove more than 40% of moisture and load less than 0.1% of sucrose in the strawberries.     

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) Slices During Osmotic Dehydration and Air Drying

The aim of this study was to develop experience in acquiring water mobility and moisture data that could be used to develop improved models for predicting water loss during osmotic dehydration and/or air-drying. One-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging protocols were used to follow temporal and spatial changes in water mobility via T₂ profiles, water content via M₀ profiles, and structural shrinkage of strawberry slices during osmotic dehydration with 600 g/kg aqueous sucrose over 2 h. Those measurements were also made for 1 h during air-drying of normal and osmotically dried slices at 20, 30, 45 and 60 °C. Air-drying above 20 °C resulted in changes in the strawberry matrix, which suggests the need for a model that incorporates the interaction between the strawberry tissue and the water that diffuses during drying. Modelling of the air-drying of osmotically pretreated slices would be complicated by the variable amounts of sucrose solution remaining after osmotic dehydration.     

Enrichment of Banana with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lactobacillus rhamnosus</Emphasis> Using Double Emulsion and Osmotic Dehydration

The aim of this study was to use the process of osmotic dehydration to enrich banana slices with Lactobacillus rhamnosus encapsulated in a double emulsion. The effect of a pulsed vacuum and the concentration of the osmotic solution on the impregnation of the microorganism and on mass transfer during osmotic dehydration of the fruit were assessed. The kinetics of the water loss (WL), solid gain (SG) and water activity (a_w) were obtained using an aqueous solution with 40, 50 and 60% sucrose with emulsion and a vacuum pulse of 50 mbar for 10 and 20 min at the beginning of the osmotic process. The high concentrations of sucrose in the osmotic solution, combined with the application of a pulsed vacuum, produced an increase in the rates of WL and SG of the osmodehydrated banana, as well as a reduction of its a_w. L. rhamnosus survived at levels above 10⁷ CFU/g in the hypertonic solution and in the osmodehydrated bananas. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the encapsulated probiotic adheres to the banana’s surface, which demonstrates that double emulsions can be used to impregnate probiotics in vegetal tissues.     

Prediction of postharvest dry matter, soluble solids content, firmness and acidity in apples (cv. Elshof) using NMR and NIR spectroscopy: a comparative study

Dry matter (DM), soluble solids content (SSC), firmness and acidity by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) T₂ relaxometry and near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy were investigated on a total of 390 apples (cv. Elshof). The fruit came from four different pre- or postharvest treatments and covered a large range of DM (11.4–20.0 %) and SSC values (10.5–18.3 °Brix). NIR was superior in predicting DM (R ² = 0.82) and SSC (R ² = 0.80), compared to NMR (R ² = 0.50 and R ² = 0.58). However, NMR relaxometry was able to detect multiple water populations assigned to different water pools in the apples and variation in the water distribution between different pre- and postharvest treatments. Differences in the mobility of the vacuole water (population T₂₄) were consistent with changes in fruit firmness. In conclusion, even though NIR is superior in predicting DM and SSC, NMR provides useful information about the intrinsic water state and its distribution in the fruit.     

Dehydrofreezing of Apple Fruits: Freezing Profiles,Freezing Characteristics,and Texture Variation

The present study deals with the dehydrofreezing of apples. Fresh samples (700 % db) and samples dehydrated up to different water contents (200, 100, and 30 % db) were frozen at high practical freezing rate (PFR⁺) and low practical freezing rate (PFR^?). The effects of water content (W) and practical freezing rate (PFR) were investigated in terms of freezing characteristics: initial freezing temperature (IFT), practical freezing time (PFT), specific freezing time (SFT), thaw exudate water (TEW), and texture (maximum puncture force as index of firmness). Only high W samples (700 and 200 % db) had a significant impact of PFR in terms of PFT, SFT, and TEW. IFT decreased sharply with the decrease in the sample W. PFT greatly depended on PFR for fresh apples. PFT varied from 86 to 329 min for fresh apples at PFR⁺ and PFR^?, respectively, whereas it was lower than 32 min for samples with W?=?30 % db. SFT decreased, equally, with sample W decrease. The TEW of fresh frozen samples, during thawing, was approximately 12 g/100 g water for low PFR (PFR^?), whereas it was lower than 3 g/100 g water for samples with W?=?200 % db at the same PFR. Moreover, the impact of PFR on TEW was significant and very important for high W samples. Finally, the firmness increased when W decreased for both PFR⁺ and PFR^?. Nevertheless, an insignificant impact of PFR on apple firmness was found. Thus, partial removal of water constitutes a promising solution to prevent the negative impacts of freezing on apple fruit firmness.     

Microwave vacuum drying of osmotically dehydrated mandarin cv. (Sai‐Namphaung)

Mandarin [mandarin cv. (Sai‐Namphaung)] was subjected to osmotic dehydration prior to microwave vacuum drying. Osmotic solutions were varied using different ratios of sucrose to glycerol (9:1, 7:3 and 5:5 w/w). Because of the decreased moisture content and solid gain during osmotic dehydration, dielectric properties of mandarin were changed significantly (P ≤ 0.05). The osmotically dehydrated mandarin was then dried further using microwave vacuum drying at 4.8 and 6.4 W g^?1. Among thin layer models, page model was the best to describe the drying of osmotically dehydrated mandarin. An increase in the microwave power could increase drying rate without significant effect on hardness of dried samples. Nonetheless, the hardness was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced by an increase in the glycerol ratio in the osmotic solution. The increase in microwave power and glycerol ratio significantly (P ≤ 0.05) decreased β‐carotene content and thereby affected colour of the dried mandarin.     

Green Banana (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Musa cavendishii</Emphasis>) Osmotic Dehydration by Non-Caloric Solutions: Modeling,Physical-Chemical Properties,Color, and Texture

Osmotic dehydration effects on the kinetics and on some quality attributes of green banana slices (Musa cavendishii) at 25 °C with non-caloric solutes (glycerol, sorbitol, and a mixture of both) at concentrations varying from 40 to 60 g/100 g for up to 6 h were studied. The three-component diagram showed that the first pseudo-equilibrium was achieved, and the water pseudo-diffusion coefficient presented higher values with glycerol solutions. A modified Peleg’s model was applied to obtain the maximum water loss. Changes in green banana physical-chemical properties were observed: moisture content from 1.25 to 0.19 kg/kg dry basis, soluble solute content from 5.4 to 16.9 °Brix; total color-difference from 2.7 to 15.8; and the maximum biaxial extensional viscosity from 0.63 to 1.53 MPa s. Moreover, the obtained low chroma difference values suggest that the osmotically drying process may be a suitable technique to preserve the final color of green banana slices.     

Effect of the solute on the development of compositional profiles in osmotic dehydrated apple slices

Apple (cv. Granny Smith) slices, 30-mm thick, were osmotically dehydrated for 9 h at 30 °C using glucose, sucrose and trehalose solutions with the same water activity (a_w = 0.96). After OD treatment, water and solute content were analysed in 1.5-mm thick serial disks of the apple slices to determine the effect of osmotic dehydration on the compositional profiles. Diffusional and “Advancing Disturbance Front” (ADF) models were applied to the experimental data, both showing a good fit. Changes in the compositional profiles of osmotically dehydrated slices were also analysed throughout storage time. For this purpose, the 30-mm thick dehydrated slices were kept at 10 °C for 7 days in hermetic plastic bags and compositional profiles were analysed after 1, 2, 3 and 7 days and modelled using Fermi's equation. Throughout storage, the profiles became flatter due to the counter-current migration of water and solutes associated to the concentration gradients. Mass transfer rate during dehydration was faster when sucrose or glucose was used, but trehalose implied an increase in the mass transfer resistance of the tissue. This behaviour was also observed in the mass transfer processes during storage. This effect was attributed to the changes induced by trehalose in the permeability of cell membranes through component interactions.     

Osmotic dehydration of apple: Influence of sugar and water activity on tissue structure,rheological properties and water mobility

Osmotic dehydration of apple tissue (Malus pumila, Granny Smith cultivar) to water activity (a_w) 0.97 or 0.94 with maltose or maltose syrup solutions was studied and compared with previous results using glucose or trehalose as humectants. Structure (optical and transmission electronic microscopy observations), rheological properties (small scale dynamic oscillatory and creep/recovery measurements and large scale compression force-deformation testing), and water mobility (¹H NMR spectra) of parenchymatous apple tissue were significantly affected by osmotic treatments. Osmotically dehydrated apples became soft and extensible and lost crispness and hardness, while the behavior of the moduli G′ and G″ indicated weaker gels after osmosis. Compression properties of the tissues abruptly changed after osmotic dehydration to a_w 0.97, while reduction to a_w 0.94 led to a compression response more similar to that of untreated apples. Compression behavior and state and distribution of water in apple tissues were influenced by the osmotic agent employed and the a_w level, while in general mechanical spectra and creep analysis were not able for distinguishing physical differences between osmotic treatments assayed.     

Moisture Adsorption Characteristics of Solar-Dehydrated Mango and Jackfruit

The moisture adsorption isotherms of solar dehydrated mango and jackfruit were determined at temperatures ranging from 30 °C to 50 °C. The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of mango and jackfruit increased sharply as the temperature increased at water activity (a _w) above 0.6 and 0.8, respectively. However, there were no clear isothermal intersection points observed at higher a _w and temperatures. The EMC of solar dehydrated jackfruit showed the isothermal characteristics between types II and III. In contrast, dehydrated mango followed the characteristic type III adsorption isotherms due to high total soluble solids content of 67.8 °Brix and total sugars of 14.21 g/100 g fresh mango. Estimated parameters and fitting ability of three isotherm models were also evaluated. The Guggenheim-Anderson-Boer (GAB) model gave the best fit to the experimental EMC data. The GAB monolayer moisture contents (m _o) of mango and jackfruit ranged from 11.1–10.0 % and 4.7–3.4 %, respectively. Specific surface area of active binding sites (S) was calculated based on the m _o values. The S value of dehydrated mango was 2.5 to 2.8 times larger than jackfruit. The maximum net isosteric heat (q _s) of sorption of solar dehydrated mango and jackfruit were determined as 19.5 and 33 kJ mol^?1, respectively, and q _s decreased significantly at high moisture.     

Application of Image Analysis and Artificial Neural Network to Predict Mass Transfer Kinetics and Color Changes of Osmotically Dehydrated Kiwifruit

The objectives of this study were to use image analysis and artificial neural network to predict mass transfer kinetics and color changes of osmotically dehydrated kiwifruit slices. Kiwifruits were dehydrated implementing four different sucrose concentrations, at three processing temperatures and during four osmotic time periods. A multilayer neural network was developed by using the operation conditions as inputs to estimate water loss, solid gain, and color changes. It was found that artificial neural network with 16 neurons in hidden layer gives the best fitting with the experimental data, which made it possible to predict solid gain, water loss, and color changes with acceptable mean-squared errors (1.005, 2.312, and 2.137, respectively). These results show that artificial neural network could potentially be used to estimate mass transfer kinetics and color changes of dehydrated kiwifruit.     

Preserving Melons by Osmotic Dehydration in a Ternary System Followed by Air-Drying

In this study, the effect of different osmotic solution concentrations (20–60% w/w of sucrose with 10% w/w NaCl salt), fruit to solution ratios (1:9–1:3), immersion times (0.5–4 h), and temperatures (15–55°C) on the mass transfer kinetics during osmotic dehydration of melons (Curcumis melo L.) in ternary solution namely sucrose–salt–water followed by air-drying were investigated. The effective diffusion coefficients for sucrose and water during osmotic dehydration were determined, assuming osmotic dehydration to be governed by Fickian diffusion. The estimated parameters allowed optimizing the system to reduce total processing time. The optimum treatments were with 50% sucrose and 10% NaCl salt concentration, fruit to solution ratio of 1:4 for 1 h at 45°C. Samples non-treated and pre-treated in optimized conditions were dried in a hot-air dryer at 60°C until equilibrium was achieved after 2.5 h. Pre-treatment reduced the air-drying period in up to 6.8 h.     

Effects of Ultrasound on Mass Transfer Kinetics,Structure, Carotenoid and Vitamin C Content of Osmodehydrated Sweet Potato (Ipomea Batatas)

The effects of ultrasound pretreatments on mass transfer kinetics, microstructure, carotenoid and vitamin C contents of sweet potato were investigated. Sweet potato samples were treated in distilled water with ultrasound (DWU), osmotic dehydration without ultrasound (OD) and ultrasound-assisted osmotic dehydration (UOD). Samples were subjected to ultrasound probe of 2 cm diameter, frequency of 28 kHz at 300 W maximum power at different pretreatment times of 20, 30, 45 and 60 min. The Azuara model used in this study fitted the experimental data well with high coefficient of correlation ranging from 0.92 to 0.98, low values of chi-square (<0.6), root mean square error (<0.9) and percent mean relative deviation (<10%). The results showed that UOD significantly (p < 0.05) had the highest mass transfer coefficient and equilibrium value for water loss and solid gain, compared to DWU and OD. DWU had no significant effect on the structure of sweet potato samples, while UOD had the highest effect on the structure. The samples treated in OD had the highest carotenoid retention compared to DWU and UOD at all pretreatment times. However, ultrasound enhanced the retention of vitamin C (>70%) in sweet potato samples treated in DWU and UOD.     

Study of the Pseudo-equilibrium During Osmotic Dehydration of Apples and Its Effect on the Estimation of Water and Sucrose Effective Diffusivity Coefficients

The study of the equilibrium is needed not only for modeling of the osmotic process as a unit operation but also for a better understanding of the mass transfer mechanisms involved in this kind of systems. A true equilibrium state usually takes very long time to achieve; therefore, a pseudo-equilibrium state is often employed. Experimental pseudo-equilibrium states for water loss and solid gain during the osmotic dehydration of apple slices (5?×?50?×?50?mm³) at different osmotic syrup concentrations (30%, 40%, 50%, and 60% (w/w) of sucrose) were evaluated. Four empirical mathematical methods (Slopes, Azuara, Zugarramurdi and Lupín, and Equal concentration) were used in order to calculate the pseudo-equilibrium values obtained and then to compare them against to the experimental ones. Additionally, the effective diffusion coefficients for water and sucrose were calculated by using those pseudo-equilibrium values. Experimental pseudo-equilibrium values increased with concentration of the osmotic syrup, ranged between 24% and 56% for water loss and 11% and 28% for solid gain; the predicted pseudo-equilibrium values followed the same trend. The decreasing order of accuracy for pseudo-equilibrium values and effective diffusion coefficients, among the methodologies evaluated, was Equal concentration method > Azuara method > Slopes method > Zugarramurdi and Lupín method. Although the Equal concentration method has no theoretical accuracy, it is independent of the kinetic data presenting a higher advantage over the other three mathematical methods evaluated.     

Application of High Hydrostatic Pressure as a Pretreatment for Osmotic Dehydration of Banana Slices (Musa cavendishii) Finish-Dried by Dehumidified Air Drying

The process variables high hydrostatic pressure (HHP; 100–500 MPa), sucrose concentration (30–70 °Brix), immersion time (5–9 h) and immersion temperature (30–70 °C) were optimised to yield maximum water loss (WL), minimum solid gain (SG), minimum water activity (a _w) and minimum browning index (BI) during osmotic dehydration (OD) of banana slices (Musa cavendishii) pretreated by HHP using response surface methodology. The pressure-treated samples showed significantly higher WL and SG during OD (p?<?0.05), which was attributed to the rupture of cell wall with applied pressure, making the cells more permeable, also evident from the scanning electron micrographs of the banana tissue. The optimised operating conditions were: HHP of 200 MPa for a dwell time of 5 min at room temperature (26 °C), sucrose concentration of 60 °Brix, immersion time of 5 h and immersion temperature of 40 °C. A study of the concentration profiles during OD revealed no appreciable increase in SG and WL after 4 h; hence, immersion time was reduced to 4 h. The optimised product developed was dried to a moisture content of 15 % (wet basis) in a dehumidified air dryer at an air temperature of 40, 55 and 70 °C with a fixed air velocity of 3.8 m/s and relative humidity maintained at 20 %. The final dried product was analyzed for total soluble solids content, BI and a _w. A drying temperature of 55 °C was found to give superior quality OD banana slices in terms of reduced bulk, improved flavour, decreased a _w (<0.60), and reduced dehydration time and energy using HHP as a pretreatment.